Review: You're Not You

The best intentions don't always produce the best results. Such is the case with You're Not You, a well-meaning drama that focuses on the bond between Kate (Hilary Swank), a woman stricken with ALS, and her new caretaker Bec (Emmy Rossum).

The women are a study in contrasts. Kate, a former concert pianist, lives in a beautiful sterile house with her handsome husband of 15 years Evan (Josh Duhamel). Having lived with the degenerative disease for 18 months, he is expert at bathing her, clothing her, and putting on her makeup. It's clear he's loving yet overprotective and it's no surprise that he balks at the sight of Bec. Bedraggled and raccoon-eyed, she's a mess - her life aimless with one-night stands and secret trysts with her married college professor.

After a rocky start - Bec can't cook much less use a blender and doesn't know how to deal with helping Kate use the bathroom - their relationship deepens into something more as Kate learns of her husband's infidelity, and battles her deteriorating condition. Kate gives grace to Bec whilst Bec lends her some grit.

There's an inertia that dampens this adaptation of Michelle Wildgen's terribly titled novel. On the whole, it sidesteps the mawkishness in favour of straightforward and unfussy sentiment, Yet there's something amiss. It may be that director George C. Wolfe, celebrated for his directorial work in plays such as Angels in America and The Normal Heart, has staged the story in such a way that it feels more appropriate onstage rather than onscreen. The direction is more than able, but it is also uninspired.

Swank and Rossum do effective work here; the former maps Kate's decline with laudable precision without overplaying the indignities that accompany the illness. There are touches throughout the film that intriguingly recall Ingmar Bergman's Persona. That film showed the story of a famous stage actress, who is suddenly unable to speak, and the nurse who cares for her. Their identities begin to merge until the line between dream and reality becomes harder and harder to detect. In You're Not You, we see how Bec serves as a vessel for Kate. It starts innocuously with Bec trying on a pair of Kate's shoes and joking, "I look like you." Then it becomes more explicit with Bec letting out a scream that Kate is unable to voice, and then allowing Kate the experience of playing the piano once more by placing Kate's hands over hers.

You're Not You may not delve into the same territory as Persona - oh but that it had! - but it does make a strong case for how we leave our mark on each other. For this film, that may be all it's satisfied to offer.

You're Not You

Directed by: George C. Wolfe

Written by: Shana Feste, Jordan Roberts; adapted from Michelle Wildgen's novel

Starring: Hilary Swank, Emmy Rossum, Josh Duhamel, Stephanie Beatriz, Jason Ritter, Julian McMahon, Ali Larter, Ernie Hudson, Loretta Devine, Frances Fisher, Marcia Gay Harden